Stocks Set for Drop

Wall Street suffered at the close Friday afternoon. The Dow Jones was able to gain points (12.85 points, 0.12 percent) on the day, but only slightly. Meanwhile both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ dropped, rather surprisingly, at the closing bell. The NASDAQ fell 0.80 points (0.03 percent), while the S&P 500 lost 0.25 points (0.02 percent).

The outlook for today does not seem much better than last Friday. According to CNNMoney.com, American stocks are set up for a drop during the morning. Futures for all three U.S. indexes were down prior to the opening bell, and trading around the world has been struggling all day.

The week ahead for Wall Street could be a momentous one for U.S. investment. Since reaching a collective bottom on March 9, 2009, American indexes have soared. The NASDAQ is up 87 percent, the S&P 500 has gained 70 percent, and the Dow has jumped 62 percent.

The vast majority of those stock gains were accumulated during last year’s market rally, and markets have been rather flat for much of the year, but this week could see markets hit new heights.

In other news, according to Bloomberg News, China is once again rebuffing any claims by the U.S. that the yuan must be allowed to float on the international market. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, at a press conference in Beijing, stated that he did not believe the renminbi to be undervalued. Futhermore, he called the U.S. out for “pointing fingers” while trying to force one country into a certain practice.

The yuan-renminbi currency misalignment is only a small fraction of the overall discrepancy between American and Chinese goods. China’s products will always be cheaper due to a massive workforce, cheaper labor and zero environmental protection.

However, currency misalignment is one area where there is international consensus. Everyone knows China is breaking the rules, everyone knows that what they are doing is illegal; there is simply no way to stop them. Fixing currency will not fix the import imbalance the U.S. carries against China, but it is the first step.